Heart Healthy Benefits of Red Wine - Not so Fast

A key ingredient in red wine called resveratrol may be great for the heart. So what is resveratrol? It’s basically a group of compounds that act like antioxidants and protect your body from heart disease and certain cancers.

Early Research Shows Promising Results but More Research is Needed

In a 2010 study titled, “Red wine: a Drink to your Heart”, scientists concluded that red wine contains antioxidant components such as resveratrol and quercetin and may help to decrease inflammation and may be beneficial for cardiovascular health. The key word is ‘may.’ It’s important to take this research for what it is - preliminary findings. It seems evident that scientists feel that more research here is needed.

Does Red Wine Really Help with Heart Disease and Prevent Heart Attacks?

While it seems there may be some hopeful preliminary evidence to show that red wine may have a positive impact on the heart, research is still being conducted and will take some time. Doctors seem to agree in unison that something in red wine positively affects the heart but are also skeptical to recommend wine to patients without more research.

Ingredients in red wine, namely resveratrol, may prevent coronary heart disease. As the Mayo Clinic says in an article title, Red wine and resveratrol: Good for your heart?’. “Red wine seems to have heart-healthy benefits. But it's possible that red wine isn't any better than beer, white wine or liquor for heart health. There's still no clear evidence that red wine is better than other forms of alcohol when it comes to possible heart-healthy benefits.” The real benefit of red wine may be in reducing inflammation, a key cause of heart attacks and heart disease. While some studies point to a benefit in red wine, others remain inconclusive and show that we need more research at this juncture.

In fact, the website prevention.com seems adamant that red wine is a great for the heart and points to a study showing that red wine lowers LDL, or bad cholesterol, however the article ‘8 Reasons To Love Red Wine’does not point out that scientists and doctors widely agree that more testing is needed to draw such conclusions. They also go on to say that it boosts brain health, may prevent diabetes, may fight off colds and may even help one lose weight. The website needs to be careful and explain that research is in its early stages and most of the research at this phase is inconclusive.

Dr. Axe in an article titled “Benefits of Red Wine” seems to ignore scientific research and facts again explaining that red wine boosts heart health and lowers cholesterol. Again, while quercetin, present in red wine, may help to regulate blood pressure levels, doctors and scientists have said that more research is needed. Prominent websites need to explore both sides of the facts and not just ones supporting their arguments.